“We Are No Longer Here, Do You Care?” Highlights Lives of Children in Gaza

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A two minute film, produced in Dutch, has highlighted the lives of eight Palestinian children killed during the latest conflict in Gaza.

Entitled, ‘We are no longer here, do you care?’ the images are striking: young children playing on the beach, an infant being put down for the night, and a young teenage girl playing on the computer. It’s only later in the video you realize that these were their final moments; these are the places where they died.

The children the Dutch actors portray are real-life stories from the victims of this tragedy:

Aahed Baker, 10 years old, with his family members, Ismail Baker, 9, Zakareyya Baker, 10 and Mohammed Baker, 11, died while running from attacks on a local beach.

Ranim Abdul-Ghafoor, a 1-year-old infant, died in her sleep when her house was shelled.

Anas Qandeel was a 17-year-old girl whose last message on Facebook read, “I can’t sleep, when are you going to attack my home?” She died an hour later, when the IDF did just that.

Nour Al-Najdi, a 10-year-old girl, died when her house collapsed after the building next door was shelled.

Sahir Abou Namous, a 5-year-old, discusses his love for the park; Sahir and his mother were playing at the park when they were hit by a missile and killed.

The video poses an interesting juxtaposition. By seeing these children in western settings, with westernized faces, it is easier to empathize. Rather than just reading names on the page, we are allowed to view these children for what they were: living souls.

The video goes on to state that during the July incursion on Gaza, Israel has killed 10 Palestinian children every day. Since 2000, one Palestinian child has died on average every 3 days. It’s an effective video, and most, if not all will find themselves emotional as they watch innocent children vanish from this world.

However, groups at the UN fear that the number of child casualties might actually be considerably higher. At one point, the UN declared that “One child has died every hour for the past 2 days.” World Vision International has stated, “So far, more children have been killed by Israeli fire than Palestinian militants.”

When it comes to the conflict between Israel and Palestine, it’s easy to choose sides and build up an argument in defense of it. However, when it comes to children, it is just as easy to tear those walls down. As of press, around 1,500 Palestinians have died, and UNICEF is estimating that 1 in 3 of those deaths have been children.

Although the Israeli Military takes steps to prevent civilian casualties, such as calling an apartment block before a strike informing them to evacuate, and roof knocking (where a small missile ‘knocks’ into a roof 1 minute before a devastating strike), human rights workers have claimed this method is unhelpful. The Mezan Center for Human Rights, for instance, shows the inconsistent results of evacuation orders, confirming that out of 477 civilian homes destroyed, 332 people have died in their home.

Many of the children in this video also perished in this way.

However, the danger doesn’t end for children who are able to evacuate. According to a report by Save the Children, “Reports that schools hosting thousands of the displaced are facing extreme water shortages, and families are struggling to find adequate food for babies and children. Hospitals, clinics and health facilities have been hit, and at least 90 schools have been damaged.”

Child welfare advocates are concerned about the psychological impacts that face children who lose a sibling and grow up with war. As one article points out, the average six year old in Gaza has already lived through 3 military incursions.

Yet for the children in the video, it’s already too late. The video poses the question: Do You Care? on multiple occasions. Yet as fighting continues, for the children of Palestine, the answer from the international community would seem to be a resounding ‘No.’

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138 comments

It hapens also because killin in war is not considered crime. Nothing will ever happen to any of them who are bombing and killing. If a man or woman kills aniother person he sill be sent to jail. How come governments can kill inocent beings this way? It time to say enough to both sides.

Israel-Gaza conflict: Names of 373 children killed by bombing released in charity plea for permanent ceasefire

The number of dead children has since increased to 408, according to UN
Lizzie Dearden
Wednesday 06 August 2014
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israelgaza-conflict-names-of-373-children-killed-by-bombing-released-in-charity-plea-for-permanent-ceasefire-9651400.html

I do not suppose that you are interested in facts, but of the many articles I have read about the Gaza conflict, written by journalists who were there, no one has said that hospitals or schools have contained weapons.

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Names of 373 children and babies killed so far in the conflict in Gaza have been published as part of a charity campaign for a permanent ceasefire.
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It seems to me that when people speak of Hamas indiscriminately firing rockets into Israel, they might need to step back and take a look for a moment. Who has the better technology and weaponry? Who has better targeting systems, where if they chose to they could avoid hitting certain targets more easily, such a public beaches. Who has an ability to flee the fighting without being stopped at all boarders. The Palestine's are basically forced to live in ghettos. I don't agree with the tactics of Hamas, but I don't think Israel has responded properly either.

I often wonder if people here in the United States of America ever stop to wonder what methods of fighting they would use to protect and defend what they believe to be theirs to defend, if they found they had such seriously inferior weaponry to their foe. If China say, invaded the USA and managed to eliminate our fighting power to nothing but throwing stones, would they resort to similar tactics as Palestine has. I believe the answer is yes. When I watch the news every night, I find myself thinking that the balance of power is the problem. Israel has so much more fire power and the Palatines have little else to use than the methods they use. I think that if the balance of military might was more balanced people would see a different kind of war, and more interest in peace from Israel.

"Amnesty International urged the Human Rights Council to urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law, as well as violations and abuses of international human rights law by all parties to the current hostilities.

Human Rights Council resolution S-21/1, which was adopted with 29 states voting in favour, one (the USA) voting against, and 17 (including all EU member states currently on the Council) abstaining, established a commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014, whether before, during or after. Amnesty International notes that this language allows the commission of inquiry to examine violations by all parties, including those committed by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and those committed by Palestinian armed groups, such as the firing of indiscriminate rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel. Amnesty International thus welcomes the establishment of the commission of inquiry, and expects the commission to examine all violations and abuses by all parties in the context of the current hostilities."

Rolf S: People who live in freedom and prosperity do not fire rockets at other people. The conditions in the Gaza are well documented as poor and needing, and it is hard to a people who's land is occupied by an enemy force to 'live in peace and prosperity.'

No one seems the least interested in this problem which has been condemned by the UN, but Gaza is a ghetto locked between a wall and the sea.

I do not approve of the actions of Hamas, but the retaliation from Israel is beyond any reason as well as international laws, they are bombed mercilessly and have no where to go!

As for just 'standing up to' Hamas, just how possible do you think that is? Can US for instance just 'stand up' to its own terrorists, the abortion bombers? I mean, according to you, all the victims have to do is to stand up' to them and all will be fine. HOW exactly do normal civilians 'stand up' to terrorists hidden in their midst??

About 40 Israeli soldier have been killed, and thousands wounded. The retaliation has been to bomb hospitals, schools, UN shelters, and beaches and other places where the Israelis have directed them to go when they ask where they can go to escape bombings. The death tolls are in the thousands, many children. They have nowhere to go, nowhere to run to.

Yes, Rolf, his is nazi methods, there is not other word for it. They are both in the wrong, but teh retaliations are out of all proportions, and will mean the destruction of the land and collaps of the structure.h

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Lindsay Spangler is a Web Editor and Producer for Care2 Causes. A recent UCLA graduate, she lives in San Francisco, California. She is most interested in the environment, civil rights, immigration rights, and international politics. less